OT: What is the story on the kid from LaSalle High and UC

[xubuck]

Is he not good enough for the Big East(Mid-Am fit), too good for the big east(i.e., being recruited by Kansas and North Carolina), or just not a good fit for UC? Seems to be a mutual decision.

[MarionHall4ever]

This one sounds intriguing, but some more details would be appreciated.

[muskieman]

LINK?

[Shadow]

The kid was a HS sophomore when he committed and now he's a junior that wants to re-examine his options. No big deal and no LOI.

[muskienick]

I got the impression from reading the story that Hep Cronin, Mick's dad, is on the coaching staff at LaSalle and the general consensus was that it might be wise for the kid to look elsewhere.

Reading between the lines, I am thinking that maybe there would be too many complaints from others (or at least the perception) that Hep might be recruiting the guy for his son and, considering their close contact during non-recruiting periods, that could be a problem for the kid and for Mick and UC.

[CarlosTheJackal]

Am I the only one who hears echoes of LaSalle Thompson in this story?

I can't buy the dad-as-pipeleine-DQ theory. AAU and high school coaches send players to favorite coaching buddies all the time. The recruited as a soph and verballing way too soon interpretation makes more sense.

[72Muskie]

I don't recall his name but I saw him play in the Elder - LaSalle game last February at Elder. He certainly wasn't the best player on the court, not even in the top five. He may work out well somewhere but I certainly didn't see any thing about him that warrented D-1 consideration. BTW: That was maybe the ugliest game I've ever seen. Elder 71, LaSalle 18 (that's right -- 18)

[Brian Fantana]

Very simply
..he committed after his frosh season...he was a 6'6" PF

...after his junior season, he was still a 6'6" PF.

Mick offered early because Mick was NEW and needed SOMETHING for people to see that he was working and getting commits during a rough time.

UC has become a place beyond the kid's abilities.

Masterful work to encourage him to go elsewhere.

[Mr. Neutral]

I like the fact that this thread has 8 posts (before mine) and we still have no idea who the kid is, or to what extent this story is accurate. Was this reported anywhere??????

[muskienick]

Gary, there was a story in the Enquirer long enough ago that I don't remember the date or the kid's name. (Of course, given the state of my little gray cells, I could have made the same comment on something I read this morning as well!) Now, I wish I, or someone else, would have posted a link.
----------------------------------------
Actually, I just now looked at the date of the opening post in this thread and went to the Enquirer's archive site. Here's what I found:

The player is Danny McElroy, a 6'7" player who just finished his junior year. He averaged 14.2 points and 7 rebounds this past year and 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds as a sophomore in the pretty tough GCL. (Danny does not appear to be the fair-skinned, red-headed kid of Scottish decent that you may have imagined. There is a picture of him accompanying the on-line article.)

LaSalle coach, Dan Fleming, requested that the press not question Danny on this decision since there were family considerations involved.